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AB-2528 Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign statements. (2021-2022)

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Date Published: 09/26/2022 09:00 PM
AB2528:v94#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 2528
CHAPTER 500

An act to amend Section 84605 of, and to add Section 84226 to, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

[ Approved by Governor  September 23, 2022. Filed with Secretary of State  September 23, 2022. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2528, Bigelow. Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign statements.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires elected officers, candidates, and committees, as defined, to periodically file campaign statements and related documents containing specified information, including the amount of contributions received and expenditures made. The act requires, generally, that local elected officers file such statements with local filing officers, as specified.
The act requires the Secretary of State to develop an online and electronic filing system for specified persons and entities filing campaign statements and other documents and to certify and make the system available no later than February 1, 2021.
This bill would require elected local government officers and candidates for elective local government office whose campaign contributions for an upcoming election equal or exceed $15,000 and who are not currently required to file a campaign statement or related document with the Secretary of State to file specified campaign statements and related documents with the Secretary of State, along with any other persons, such as their local filing officer, with whom they are otherwise required to file. The bill would make these requirements operative on the first January 1st after the Secretary of State certifies that necessary changes to the online filing and disclosure system described above have been made to accommodate filings by elected local government officers and candidates for elective local government office.
A violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 is punishable as a misdemeanor and subject to specified penalties. By imposing criminal penalties on filers who fail to comply with the above requirements, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2/3 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 84226 is added to the Government Code, to read:

84226.
 (a) This section applies to any elected local government officer or candidate for elective local government office who meets both of the following criteria:
(1) The officer or candidate is required to file a statement, report, or other document required by this chapter, with their local filing officer or otherwise, but whose filing requirements do not include filing with the Secretary of State.
(2) The officer or candidate has received campaign contributions to support their candidacy for office in an upcoming election that equal or exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, and subject to paragraph (2) of this subdivision and subdivisions (c) and (d), an elected local government officer or candidate for elective local government office specified in subdivision (a) shall, in addition to filing with any other person required by this title, file a copy of a statement, report, or other document specified in Section 84200, 84200.5, 84203, or 84204 online or electronically with the Secretary of State through the online filing and disclosure system specified in subdivision (b) of Section 84602.
(2) An elected local government officer or candidate for elective local government office specified in subdivision (a) is required to file a copy of a statement, report, or other document online or electronically with the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (1) only if the persons specified in subdivisions (a) and (e) of Section 84215 are also required to file that same category of statement, report, or other document online or electronically with the Secretary of State.
(c) By the first January 1st after the date the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 84602, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 that specifies the changes to that system, if any, that are required to accommodate filings by local officers and candidates pursuant to this section. The report shall include a date by which the Secretary of State expects to certify that those changes have been made. In preparing this report, the Secretary of State shall consult with the Fair Political Practices Commission and the Department of Technology.
(d) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall become operative on the first January 1st after the date the Secretary of State certifies that the changes specified in the report described in subdivision (c) have been made.

SEC. 2.

 Section 84605 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 25 of Chapter 662 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

84605.
 (a) The following persons shall file online or electronically with the Secretary of State:
(1) Any candidate, including superior court, appellate court, and Supreme Court candidates and officeholders, committee, or other persons who are required, pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100) and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 85100), to file statements, reports, or other documents in connection with a state elective office or state measure.
(2) Any state general purpose committees, as defined in Section 82027.5, including the general purpose committees of political parties, as defined in Section 85205, and small contributor committees, as defined in Section 85203.
(3) Any slate mailer organization that produces one or more slate mailers supporting or opposing candidates or measures voted on in a state election or in more than one county.
(4) Any lobbyist, lobbying firm, lobbyist employer, or other persons required, pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 86100), to file statements, reports, or other documents.
(5) Any elected local government officer or candidate for elective local government office filing with the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 84226.
(b) The Secretary of State shall also disclose on the internet any late contribution or late independent expenditure report, as defined by Sections 84203 and 84204, respectively, not covered by paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subdivision (a) or any other provision of law.
(c) It shall be presumed that online or electronic filers file under penalty of perjury.
(d) The Secretary of State shall maintain at all times a secured, official version of all original online and electronically filed statements and reports required by this chapter, which shall be the official version for audit and other legal purposes.
(e) Except for statements related to a local elective office or a local ballot measure filed by a candidate for local elective office who is also a candidate for elective state office, and for filings subject to Section 84226, a copy of a statement, report, or other document filed by online or electronic means with the Secretary of State shall not be filed with a local filing officer.

SEC. 3.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SEC. 4.

 Section 2 of this act shall not become operative until the date that the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 84602 of the Government Code.

SEC. 5.

 The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.